It is natural to assume the Old Testament is the first half of the Bible from Genesis to Malachi, but that’s not quite right. The Old Testament is a conditional contractual promise between God and the Jews. It is also known as: The Old Covenant, The First Covenant, The Ten Commandment Law (although that’s really just a part of the covenant), and for clarity it probably should be called The Mosaic Covenant.
Covenant: Literally, a contract. In the Bible, an agreement between God and his people, in which God makes promises to his people and, usually, requires certain conduct from them. In the Old Testament, God made agreements with Noah, Abraham, and Moses. –Dictionary.com
The Mosaic Covenant is written in Exodus 19 (but the fine print takes 10 more chapters and almost all of Leviticus and Numbers)…
Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai. After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai.
Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”
So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the LORD had commanded him. And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the LORD. (Exodus 19:1-8)
Moses called all the people of Israel together and said, “Listen carefully, Israel. Hear the decrees and regulations I am giving you today, so you may learn them and obey them!
“The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Mount Sinai. The LORD did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive today. At the mountain the LORD spoke to you face to face from the heart of the fire. I stood as an intermediary between you and the LORD, for you were afraid of the fire and did not want to approach the mountain. He spoke to me, and I passed his words on to you. (Deuteronomy 5:1-5)
The Mosaic Covenant was confirmed by the people and sealed by the blood of calves and goats…
Then Moses carefully wrote down all the LORD’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded. We will obey.”
Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the LORD has made with you in giving you these instructions.” (Exodus 24:4-6)
In order for a will to take effect, it must be shown that the one who made it has died. A will is used only after a person is dead because it goes into effect only when a person dies. That is why even the first promise was made with blood. As Moses’ Teachings tell us, Moses told all the people every commandment. Then he took the blood of calves and goats together with some water, red yarn, and hyssop and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, “Here is the blood that seals the promise God has made to you.” In the same way, Moses sprinkled blood on the tent and on everything used in worship. As Moses’ Teachings tell us, blood was used to cleanse almost everything, because if no blood is shed, no sins can be forgiven. (Hebrews 9:16-22)
The Mosaic Covenant included the Ten Commandment Law…
The law reveals our sins. ‘… no-one will be declared righteous in [God’s] sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin’ (Romans 3:20)
The law reveals our Saviour. ‘… we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ’ (Galatians 3:23-24). The law’s role was to prepare us for Christ. It convicts us of our sin and helps us to see our need of Jesus, the Saviour. Although he always obeyed the law, he faced the punishment for law-breaking in the pace of others: ‘Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us’ (Galatians 3:13).
The law reveals God’s standards. The law not only points us to our sin and our Saviour; it also tells us how God wants us to live. Jesus commands his followers to obey its demands (Matthew 5:17-20). Whenever possible, we should work for the application of God’s standards in the public realm too: in the workplace, at college and in society at large.
– Vaughan Roberts,
God’s Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), pg. 70
The Mosaic Covenant was broken before it hardly even got started…
The LORD told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” (Exodus 32:7-8)
“So while the mountain was blazing with fire I turned and came down, holding in my hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. There below me I could see that you had sinned against the LORD your God. You had melted gold and made a calf idol for yourselves. How quickly you had turned away from the path the LORD had commanded you to follow! So I took the stone tablets and threw them to the ground, smashing them before your eyes. (Deuteronomy 9:15-17)
Disobedience and rebellion continued for about 800 years until the northern kingdom of Israel was defeated and taken captive by the Assyrians and the southern kingdom of Judah was defeated and taken captive by the Babylonians. And, even then, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel prophesied that there would be a future deliverance, a future restoration, and a future covenant…
“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the LORD.
“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the LORD. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
Almost 700 years later, an apostle reminded us of this promise. And, he clarified that the “first” covenant had been obsolete, out-of-date, and ready to disappear for 1500 years.
If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, he said:
“The day is coming, says the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel and Judah.
This covenant will not be like the one
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They did not remain faithful to my covenant,
so I turned my back on them, says the LORD.
But this is the new covenant I will make
with the people of Israel on that day, says the LORD:
I will put my laws in their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
nor will they need to teach their relatives,
saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
will know me already.
And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.”
When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear. (Hebrews 8:7-13)
No one is under the Ten Commandment Law today. Its purpose was accomplished. It was fulfilled. It was ended. It was nailed to the cross.
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. (Matthew 5:17-18)
For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. (Ephesians 2:14-16)
He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross’ (Colossians 2:14-15).